The 37-year-old is also accused of a third charge of damaging a gas valve at their home a few days earlier in the second allegation that he attempted to kill his 40-year-old wife. He denies all three charges.

The court was told that the day after the incident, the defendant visited the airfield and met Mark Bayada, who has been chief instructor of the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon since 2013.

Responding to the description, Mr Bayada said it appeared that Mrs Cilliers was not entangled in the main parachute and "was stable at the time of deployment".

Mr Bayada was asked by Elizabeth Marsh QC, representing Cilliers, if he felt there had been "no effort" by Mrs Cilliers to "kick-out" of the twists in the lines or use the brakes in the malfunctioning parachute.

He said: "In my mind, most likely, there was another problem, something stopping being able to release the brakes.

"It might be a legal thing but to me no effort means not even bothering. To me it suggests for a reason, they didn't take control, but not that it was no effort."

The trial continues.

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